Ballas (Los Angeles)

The Ballas is a major African-American street gang that was founded in the 1970s in southern California. The gang was involved in drug dealing, gang banging, prostitution, arms dealing, vandalism, degeneracy, and mainly, the cocaine trade, setting it apart from its Grove Street Families rivals. The Ballas gang had ties to Mexican drug dealers and Russian arms smugglers, and it grew to become one of the most powerful gangs in Los Angeles. The Front Yard Ballas were involved in fighting the GSF on the front lines and dealing drugs, while the Rollin' Heights Ballas and Kilo Tray Ballas acted as backup. From 1987 to 1992, the Ballas and Grove Street Families fought a tough gang war that resulted in the loss of all Ballas territory in the city, but they came back due to divisions in the GSF. By 2013, the Ballas had even taken over Grove Street in Compton, leaving The Families with just Baldwin Village.